The money down here in SW FL...just makes my eyes pop out!

Friday, May 03, 2013

I'm the curious type of humanoid...soooooo when I meet people with more money than God...I just want to ask them HOW they came by it! It's rude of course...so I don't...but still...that little "I wanna KNOW.... gene is working overtime!"

Night before last we went to another swanky high rise down in Naples for a whole condo appraisal. The lady in charge casually mentioned that she wanted to show me a few pieces her decorator said 'had to go'...okay we traverse up to the 14th floor before we start the appraisal process for her new place she had just purchased and was completely remodeling on the 7th floor.

I drug the hubs along for the appraisal this time...because he REALLY needs to see what I go through with the very rich and elite...who...sorry...tend to be neurotic and anxious, and anal and well...(as my momma used to say) they will squeeze a nickel til the Indian rides the buffalo. Sorry if you young un's don't know what the heck I'm talking about!

Soooo as we are riding the elevator up to the 14th floor of this very swanky high rise down on the 'name dropping honor' address off Gulfshore Blvd. which looks directly over the gulf..I hear that our lady of the house volunteers for the Naples Women's Abuse Center so I'm thinking I might just like her after all.

Then I see the two pieces she has to part with because the condo no longer allows any furniture items out in the hallway area approaching the units.

She's mad over this..because she needs a table to set her keys and groceries on. BUT...some of the unit owners decided to make this entry space off the common area their own little decorating projects and they have bad taste...VERY bad taste (she winks at me) so the condo disallowed it.

I smile...no one can even see her little cubby entrance to her smashing condo..but oh well..when you play with the rich n famous...you have more rules to live up to than most.

I check out her items and am so impressed with the apartment I forget to take pics of those items. Oh well they will come later. It's a nice little console table and a little game table with 2 chairs. I'm thinking WHAT was THAT game table doing in the hallway...but I politely refrain from commenting on it.

Yep...sometimes I really can mind my yap and instill my good manners too!

So then we get back in the elevator and go to her #708 unit that she just bought...so the kids have a place to stay when they come... Okay...I guess her 7,000 sf 14th floor space would be too tight to accommodate them?

Or...maybe they are really messy and the grandkids are too loud? Or...maybe she picked this new place up for a song...foreclosures abound amongst the wealthy they don't think twice about just walking away from investments if they feel the property values have fallen too much to make future money on. They have no worries about THEIR credit ratings crashing as mostly they just plunk down a trust fund check with monies that has been in the family for decades.

So I'm wondering all of this while I SHOULD be concentrating on the task at hand..inventorying her merch and assigning pricing to her 2 story little 5,000 ft. guest condo. How does one manage 2 floors within a single condo unit...this all just amazes me! But then I'm easy to entertain so there you go!

Here's a few of the items..some are interesting...some...not so much...but in the consignment biz you learn to take the bad with the good...or you'll be bumped for a charity pick up!

Pretty cute little dining set I'll probably price this around $409 for the set....rattan always is in style in SW FL...especially for the newly moved in arrivals from the cold tundra north. They came here for tropical...and you can BET they are going to decorate tropical! At least for the first year or two! This set would easily be around $800 retail. I'm telling you CONSIGNMENT is the WAY to go people!

An okay sofa and the mirrors behind it and the lamps...the lamps are really pretty cool s~ville!

The one item I really wanted...derp...she e-mails me back and says her designer says to keep that piece...DRAT! Happens EVERY time!

Athough...this desk is a SCORE! And I REALLY am liking the chairs! I say "Oh those are so nice!" She looks down her nose at me like I fell off a turnip truck and says..."Well...tsk, tskk...to EACH their own!" Snobster she is! Am I the least bit offended...heck NO! I know what MY people like and what MY people (customers we're talking about here) need!

See my 'better' photo of the desk lower down in the blog.

Seriously...what's NOT to love about these chairs??

Then a few interesting silks...my movers will NOT be happy about the goliath one that weighs a ton and is over 8 feet tall...but it's a perfect specimen...I'll just tip them well!

This weeping fig (below)...actually made me want to weep...it's seen it's better days..but again..the bad with the good.

She said.."well it looked good last Christmas with Christmas lights on it!"...Okay...can you include the lights because it looks like CRAP~OLA without them!

A better picture of the desk...I'm removing the first one...because the hubs snapped SOMEONE's FAT feet in it! I'm telling you...men pay NO attention whatsoever to details!

And this is pretty cool too...a narrow etagere...I likey...she hatey~

Another cool planter...she also hates this...she has a SERIOUS thing against rattan and Tommy Bahama looks....poor Tommy would be SO hurt!

And...some pretty cool high end patio furniture which flys out the door the minute it enters...yes people love their patios in this neck of the land!

Pretty cool stuff huh? Just another day in the life of....

And...I found this cool pic on another sparkies page and just HAD to make a sign and embellish the saying a little bit for our gallery. I hand printed on the side..."I should be pure GOLD by now!"

The sign is SO PERFECT...because people ALWAYS try to pick the price down for the MOST minute teeny tiny little blemish on a piece. It really gets to be so silly it's funny. A couple of times I've asked for their microscope so that I can see the same thing they claim they are seeing...you've GOT to keep your sense of humor in this biz!

I was SO busy this week I actually ran my Fitbit completely dead! I've never done THAT before! I was just too busy to even think about recharging it and was so mad at myself that on the day I thought I broke my all time record...the fitbit didn't keep my tally...dead as a doornail...bummer! But good that I'm busy enough to forget something so NEAR and dear to my heart!

JAZZEJR
You're so funny...but I'm with her about that chair--not my taste...although it looks a little better sitting at the desk (the desk gives you something else to look at :) All that apartment space sounds nice, but I was kind of expecting to be more WOWed by the furniture...if they're so rich. But what do I know about quality furniture!1779 days ago

AWESOMECHELZ
Interesting that I was thinking about you, wondering what was going on with you and here is the blog. I have never worked in a consignment shop so I had no idea what you go through and it is very interesting.

I am also amazed that some people have so much money while others have nothing and the rest of us are somewhere in the middle. Being on disability, I am always counting pennies but feel grateful that I have a place to live and even if most of what I eat is very simple, I do have food to eat.

TSISQUAUSDI
Your blog brings to mind that line from the first Batman movie (Michael Keaton). "Know why the rich are so weird? Because they can afford to be." I like your taste in furniture! I wandered into a furniture store in Longwood one Saturday - I couldn't even afford an end table in that place!! 1781 days ago

What a hoot! It's all relative, huh? We have some extremely well off friends, they've actually come and stayed with us a couple times. She's really down to earth (she was born with it) ~ Him not as much (he wasn't).

Anyway, she asked me one time how we managed when our kids were still home in such a small space! We have around 1816 sq ft townhouse. I like my small space ~ I think it's kept the kids from trying to move back!

OLDERDANDRT
Yep, that's right! Pinch the pennies till they squeal is how they keep it! Don't know how they get it to start with, but that's how they keep it! I've known a few through the years. For some things, the sky's the limit, but in most things, not so much...! Looking forward to pics when you get them!1781 days ago

MS.ELENI
Some people don't realize that Florida is full of extremely rich people. Some don't act like it and some do. Angel cleans for several, actually mostly rich people. I can't even imagine living in some of places she cleans. The lady that sent me the orchids is a millinaire but you would never know it.1781 days ago

JEWELMAKER1
Your job sound so interesting. If you should ever have the opportunity to ask how a rich person came into (made) all that fortune....don't forget to share with your Spark buddies! LOL! 1781 days ago